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Tennis

Rublev faces Chung in first Next Gen final

Top seed Andrey Rublev from Russian will take on Hyeon Chung from South Korea in the inaugural final at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan on Saturday night. Chung seeded sixth ended hopes of an all-Russian showdown when he held off Daniil Medvedev’s fightback in their semi-final on Friday night.

Borna Coric lost his semi-final in Milan against the top seed Andrey Rublev.
Borna Coric lost his semi-final in Milan against the top seed Andrey Rublev. Reuters/Jerry Lai
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After Chung took the first two sets, Medvedev won the third set tiebreaker and then cruised through the fourth 4-1 to force a decider.

Chung, however, regrouped and swept past his opponent 4-0. If Chung triumphs on Saturday night at the Fiera Milano Stadium, he will take home 335,000 euros as an undefeated champion.

"I have to focus on the match," the 21-year-old said after his semi-final victory. "After winning the final, then I can think about prize money and the trophy. So I have to finish the match first and nothing else."

Rublev enjoyed an easier journey into Saturday’s final. He beat Borna Coric from Croatia in straight sets and has a chance for revenge over Chung who steamed past him in straight sets during the round robin stage of the tournament which is showcasing a plethora of new rules.

The sets are the first player to win four games with tiebreaks at 3-3. ‘Hawk-Eye’ video cameras decide calls instead of human line judges and spectators are allowed to move around along the sides of matches during play.

Rublev said he would be more aggressive in the final. “I’m really happy to get to the final and I hope I can show an even better game to try to dictate,” added the 20-year-old, who reached the last eight at the US Open in September.

In the match for third place, Medvedev and Coric meet for the second time during the five day tournament. On 8 Novemeber, Coric won their second Group B match in four sets.

 

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